Learn fun facts about the Sentricon System!

Why do Termites Like Sentricon?

Let’s talk termites! This blog will be a place to discover more about these pests and the protection offered by the Sentricon® System. First up: some facts about termites and why they think Sentricon is so tasty.

Much like ancient empires, termite colonies are organized into a caste system from which there is no chance of advancement unless you’re the lucky female that’s the queen, who (along with the king) established the colony and therefore rules the roost. The lowest rung of the termite totem pole is occupied by the workers, who are also the most numerous members of a colony. Why so many lowly workers? They’re the ones responsible for rustling up the cellulose that feeds the entire colony. Without the worker, the colony can’t survive.

The caste system helps the colony function as a collective cellulose-eating machine.

It was a revelation when researchers Chad A. Andrews and Dr. Phil Koehler at the University of Florida conducted a study of termite food preferences comparing Recruit® HD termite bait and southern yellow pine wood. They made a video of their study, titled “Recruit HD vs. Southern Yellow Pine: a Feeding Preference Showdown.”It showed convincingly that termites preferred the Recruit HD bait found in Sentricon with Always Active™ technology when compared to southern yellow pine, a natural food source for termites which is typically found in your home. Recruit HD bait includes a patented active ingredient called noviflumuron, which prevents the workers from molting. If the workers can’t molt, they die; and if they die, the other termites in the colony can’t feed themselves starve and the colony eventually collapses and is eliminated.

See the mud tube on the station on the right? That’s termites making abeeline for the Recruit HD termite bait.

Mr. Andrews and Dr. Koehler did an independent study and video on their own—it was not sponsored by Dow AgroSciences. They replicated the study 10 times and found that the termites preferred Recruit HD vs. southern yellow pine all 10 times. The termites built a mud tube to the Recruit HD within 24 hours so they could forage undercover. The Florida researchers point out in the video study that “given a choice, termites will invest their energy in the high quality food sources. In this case they put their energy into building a tunnel to the Recruit HD. There was no mud tube built to the southern yellow pine.”

Sentricon with Always Active does not attract termites. But thanks to these studies, we can say that termites prefer the taste of Recruit HD over other cellulose products, which is abundant in your home. Termites can travel the length of a football field to find food. So naturally, they’ll find and begin feeding on the bait— they can’t help it; it’s in their DNA. Their biology is why the bait, the system, the science, works.